History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 24

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896

USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II > Part 24

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The district was named in honor of William, prince of Orange, and its first public meeting was held Nov. 24, 1783, the warrant therefor being served by Nathan Goddard. Feb. 21, 1810, the district was incorporated as a town, and the first town-meeting was held April 2, 1810. From 1783 to the present time the selectmen and clerks who have served the district and town have been as follows :

SELECTMEN.

1783 .- Savel Metcalf, Nathan Goddard, Elijah Ball. 1784,-Savel Metcalf, Hannaniah Temple, Nathan Goddard.

1785 .- John Davis, Benjamin Mayo, Savel Metcalf. 1786-87 .- Savel Metcalf, Jonathan Ward, John Davis.

1788 .- Edward Ward, Levi Cheney, John Ellis.

1789 .- Savel Metcalf, Levi Cheney, Amos Woodardl.

636

HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

1700 .- Levi Cheney, Sammel Briggs, Ebenezer Foskett. 1791-Sammel Briggs, Ebenezer Fuskett. Benjamin Dexter. 1792,-Ebenezer Forkett, Benjamim Dexter, Joseph Metcalf. 1793 .- Benjamin Dexter, Joseph Metcalf, Jonathan Goddard, 1794,-Joseph Metcalf, Jonathan Goddard, Nehemiah Ward. 1795,-Jonathan Goddard, Nehemiah Ward, Nathaniel Cheney. 1796,-Ncheaviah Ward, Nathaniel Cheney, Oliver Chapiu. 1797 .- Nathaniel Cheney, Oliver Chapin, Ebenezer Atwood. 1798,-Oliver Chapin, Ebenezer Atwood, Samuel Briggs. 1799,-Khenezer Atwood, Samuel Briggs, Amos Woodard. 1800 .- Samuel Briggs, Amos Woodard, Moses Cheney. 1×01 .- Amos Woodard, Moses Cheney, Sammel Ruggles. 1802 .- Muses Cheney, Samnel Buggles, Oliver Estey. 1803-4 .- Levi Cheney, oliver Chajin, Zina Goudale. 1805,-Josiah Cobb, Levi t'heney, Zina Goodale, 1806,-Oliver Chapin, Joseph Metcalf, Seth Ellis, 1807 .- Josiah Cobb, Joseph Lord, Nathan Cheney. 1808 .- Josiah Cobb, Amos Woodard, Benjamin Dexter. 1800,-Josiah Cobb, Amos Woodard, Pearly Barton. 1810-11 .- Amos Woodard, Pearly Barton, Thomas Colb. 1812 .- Amos Woodard, Pearly Barton, David Cleaveland. 1813 .- Josiah Cobb, Ebenezer Goddard, David Chency. 1814-15 .- David Cheney, Ebenezer Goddard, Nathan Ward. 1816 .- Ebenezer Goddard, Nathan Ward, Peter Sibley. 1817-18 .- Amor Woodard, Seth EBix, Jr., Lyman Harrington. 1819 .- Amos Wondard, Calvin May, John Davis, 1820 .- Nathan Ward, John Davis, Moses Johnson. 1821 .- John Davis, Moses Johnson, Allen Harrington. 1822 .- Moses Johnson, Allen Harrington, Thomas Cobb. 1823-24 .- George Wheelock, Moses Smith, Nathaniel Jenerson. 1825 .- George Wheelock, Moses Smith, Allen Harrington. 1826 .- Allen Harrington, Stephen Bliss, Nathan Ward. 1827 .- Stephen Bliss, Nathan Ward, J. R. Whipple. 1828 .- J. R. Whipple, Nathan Ward, Seth Ellis, Jr. 1829 .- J. R. Whipple, Zina Goulale, Daniel Moore. 1830 .- Zina Goodale, Russell Barns, Moses Johnson. 1831,-Moses Johnson, Sherman Bacon, Hiram Woodward. 1832 .- Hiram Woodward, Sherman Bacon, Moses Morton. 1833 .- Hiram Woodward, Moses Morton, Josiah Goddard. 1834 .- Hiram Woodward, Moses Morton, Otis Brooks. 1835,-Iliram Woodward, Otis Brooks, Salmon Howard. 1836,-Hiram Woodward, Benjamin Mayo, Willard Ward,

1837 .- Salmon Howard, Otis Brooks, Percival Blodgett, Benjamin Meriam, Ansel Lrsure.

1838,-Salmon Howard, Percival Blodgett, Benjamin Meriam. 1839,-Percival Blodgett, Benjamin Meriam, Dexter Davis. 1840 .- Benjamin Meriam, Salmon Howard, Josiah Goddard. 1841,-Josiah Goddard, Salmon Howard, James M. Ilills. 1842 .- Salmon Howard, James M. llille, Hillel Baker. 1843-45 .- Salmon Howard, Hillel Baker, Joseph King. 1846,-Salmon Howard, Josiah Goddard, Benjamin G. Putnam. 1847 .- Josiah Goddard, Jonathan Kendall, Asa A. Ward. 1848,-Salmon Howard, Daniel Sabin, Helon Holbrook. 1849 .- Josiah Goddard, Peter Moore, Jonathan Kendall, 1850,-Josiah Goddard, Salmon Howard, Sumuer Curtis. 1851,-Rodney Hunt, John D. Flagg, Hillel Baker. 1852-53,-Daniel Mayo, Enoch Washburn, William Bullard. 1854 .- Philbrouk Worrick, Thomas Edily, Leonard Ward, 1855 .- Thomas Eddy, John D. Flagg, Royal Phinney. 1856 .- John D. Flagg, Royal Phinney, Edwin Stow. 1857,-Philbrook Worrick, Thomas A. Tenney, Darwin Merrian. 1858-59 .- A. A. Ward, Darwin Merriam, N. S. Howard. 1860 .- A. A. Ward, Darwin Merriam, James II. Clark. 1861-64 .- A. A. Ward, Darwin Merriam, Davis Goddard, 1864 .- Davis Goddard, Darwin Merriam, I. N. Moore. 1865 .- A. J. Clark, John D. Flagg. Thomas E. Bridge 1866 .- John D. Flagg, Thomas E. Bridge, John W. Wheeler. 1867 .- John D. Flagg, Hiram Woodward, Henry W. Knights. 1868 .- John D. Flagg, Hiram Woodward, Leonard Ward. 1869 .- John D. Flagg, James N. Clark, James M. Hills. 1870 .- John D. Flagg, Davis Goddard, John C. Felt. 1871 .- Davis Goddard, Philbrook Worrick, James M. Emory. 1872 .- Philbrook Worrick, Enoch Washburn, Hiram Orcutt. 1873 .- Philbrook Worriek, James H. Waite, Ira Wakefield. 1874 .- John D. Flagg, Noah W. Packard, Benjamin M. Sawin. 1875 .- John D. Flagg, A. T. Eddy, Darwin Merriam. 1876 .- Darwin Merriam, Hiram Orcutt, Philbrook Worrick. 1877 .- Darwin Merriam, Charles A. Towne, M. D. Herrick. 1878 .- Charles A. Towne, Philbrouk Worrick, F. L. Waters.

TOWN CLERKS.

Savel Metcalf, 1783; John Davis, 1784; Savel Metcalf, 1785-88; Elenezer Fos- kett, 1788-90; Nathaniel Cheney, 1790-1802; Amos Woodard, 1802-13; Levi Cheney, Jr., 1813-27; George Blodgett, 1827-34; Peter Cheney, 1854-45; James M. Hills, 1845-47; Davis Goddard, 1847; James M. Hills, 1848-5]; Davis God- dard, 1851-56; Henry D. Goddard, 1856-59; Hiram Woodard, 1859-61; John W. Wheeler, 1861-67; R. D. Chase, 1867-79.

REPRESENTATIVES AT THE GENERAL COURT.

Following is a list of those who represented Orange from 1810 to 1858, when the town became a part of the Seventh Representative Distriet :

Josiah Colh, Amos Woodard, Parley Barton, Thomas Cobb, Hiram Woodard, Jesse Worrick, Josiah Gorllard, James C. Alvord, Salmon Howard, Benjamin Mayo, Joel Davis, Rodney Hunt, William B. Washburn, Stephen Emery, Solo- mon A. Howe, Admiral A. Ward.

VILLAGES.

The villages proper in the town are but two,-Orange Centre and North Orange,-although there are several small settlements to which names have been given.

ORANGE CENTRE,

the largest village, is a station on the Fitchburg Railroad, and is also located on both sides of Miller's River, from which it gains the fine water-power which makes it an important manu- facturing point. It is charmingly situated upon gentle de- clivities, and its well-kept and bountifully-shaded avenues make it a place well calculated to attract the attention and admiration of the lover of the picturesque. It has a popula- tion of nearly 2000, of which a large part is made up of en- ployés of the manufactories.

It contains, besides many fine residences, the town-house, built in 1868, at a cost of $25,000; a high-school building, erected in 1877, at an expense of $15,000; Putnam Block (containing stores and a public hall), which cost $20,000; Whipple Block, built in 1848, and remodeled in 1875 at a cost of $6000; three churches, eight large factories, two hotels, a railway depot, a post-office, a graded school (with building costing $6000), a public library, a steam fire-engine and two hand-engine companies, water-works, and a numerous collec- tion of stores of various descriptions.

NORTH ORANGE

is a pretty mountain village, and is the spot where the early settlers of Orange first concentrated. It has two churches,- one of which is supplied with a tower and clock,-one store, a post-office, and a collection of neat-looking dwellings, one of which, at least, may be noted as elegant and costly.

About a mile east is Furnace village, whose inhabitants are employés in Stowell's Furniture-Factory and Holden's Chair- Works, located at that point.

A mile south is Fryville, where Rufus Frost has a shoddy- mill. About a mile west of Orange Centre is West Orange, once a place of some trade ; and south, near the Athol line, is a settlement called Eagleville, the location of the Eagle Mill Company's shoddy-factory. In the north is a settle- ment called Tullyville, where some time ago two furniture- factories flourished.

CHURCHES.

At a meeting in November, 1789, the district, by a vote, agreed to treat with the proprietors of the meeting-house for the purchase of the same. In 1790 it was voted to petition the General Court to discontinue the fund raised by the religious society in Orange for the support of a minister. In 1792 the committee appointed to purchase the meeting-house reported it unadvisable to make the purchase. Shortly thereafter the district concluded to purchase it, and did so.

In 1796 it was voted that Samuel Pitts might bring into the meeting-house, two days in a year, such a minister as the com- mittee should approve. In the same year, $150 were raised to hire preaching, and for this all the inhabitants, except " the denominations of peaple called Friends and Baptists," were assessed. In 1798 it was voted to present Rev. Mr. East- erbrook, of Athol, with $25 for his kindness in visiting the people of Orange in times of distress.

In 1799 the district ordered $180 to be raised for preaching, to be divided between the Congregational, Universalist, and Methodist denominations. In 1804 the committee on minis-

637

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

terial matters reported that, having maturely considered the matter, they recommended that a committee be chosen, to con- sist of two Congregationalists, two Universalists, and one Methodist, to lay out the money raised for preaching, and that it be the duty of the committee to confer together and en- deavor to procure a teacher or teachers who would be likely to unite all of said societies into one, said teacher to be a person of good education, steadiness, and sobriety, the time for each society to occupy the meeting-house to be assigned by said committee. This report was accepted, and a committee ap- pointed.

In 1805 it was resolved to raise no money for preaching that year, and in 1808 a similar resolve was recorded. In 1810 it was decided to hire no preaching except for Thanksgiving and the succeeding or preceding Sunday.

THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF ORANGE.

Among the earliest entries upon the records of the First Congregational Church of Orange occurs the following :

" We, the subscribers, inhabitants of the adjacent corners of Athol, Warwick, and Royalston, being deeply sensible of the great disadvantages we labor under, by reason of the great distance from the meeting-honses of the several towns to which we belong, and expecting special advantages will accrue to each of us, to build a meeting-house within the bounds of Warwick, on the southeast corner of Benjamin Mayo's land, near Nathan Goddard's west barn, therefore we whoso names are under-written do covenant, promise, and agree to pay to and for the purpose of building a meeting-house in said place the sims affixed to each of our names in this instrument, said sums to he paid in merchantable rye, at four shil- lings per bushel, or Indian corn, at 28. Sd. per bushel, or cash equal thereto, ju timber, nails, etc., to the acceptance of the committee that we hereby appoint to accept the same."

The instrument provided further that the house should be for a Congregational Church or Society, and that when the territory should be incorporated in any manner, the house might also be used for corporation-meetings. The agreement was made and signed in January, 1781, by Nathan Goddard and thirty-three others, who pledged for the erection of the meeting-house an aggregate of £110. The house was to stand between the houses of Nathan Goddard and Benjamin Mayo, each of whom was to receive £10 for land used for the purpose, and the dimensions agreed upon for the structure were 46 feet in length and 36 feet in width.

Provision was made that it should be completed by Novem- ber, 1781, but it was not finished until March, 1782. The site chosen was the one upon which the Universalist Church at North Orange now stands; and this latter edifice, it may be added, is the old building remodeled and much improved.

Directly after the completion of the church edifice, the in- habitants voted " to choose a committee to hire a minister to preach in or near the new meeting-house in Warwick, said committee to agree with and settle with said minister."

In November, 1782, the Congregational Society in South Warwick voted to concur with the church in extending a call to Rev. Emerson Foster, and, as an inducement, he was to have a settlement of £100, 25 cords of firewood, and a salary of £60 a year for the first two years, the third year £65, the fourth year £70, and at that to stand thereafter.

Ile accepted the call, and was installed the following De- cember. lle was dismissed in 1790, and for a period of thirty- two years thereafter, or until 1822, the church was without a settled pastor.

In 1822, the Unitarian element predominating, Rev. Joshua Chandler, a Unitarian minister, was installed, and preached until his dismissal, in 1827. From that time forward the church was controlled by the Universalists until 1844, when they united with the Unitarians, and continued to use the house jointly with them until 1858, when the church was re- organized as

THE SECOND UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF ORANGE,

and as such has continued to this day. The church was remodeled and beautified in 1832, and in 1875 was supplied

with a clock for its tower. Rev. William Jewell is the present pastor. The attendants average from 75 to 100.

Meanwhile, the Congregationalists at North Orange held occasional public worship in dwelling-houses, and were sup- plied by Revs. Mr. Beckwith, of Athol, Mr. Tracy, of Peters- ham, and Mr. Lincoln, of Gardner. They met with some opposition from evil-minded persons, and this opposition went so far sometimes as to break up their meetings.

THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

In 1834 they fitted up a dwelling as a chapel, and in 1843 organized the Third Congregational Church. Revs. Josiah Tucker, Charles Boyter, Samuel D. Darling, Willard Jones, and Benjamin F. Clarke preached for them until shortly after 1850, when worship was discontinued. The church was reor- ganized in 1858, and since that time has been moderately prosperous. Rev. John HI. Garmon was the pastor in 1879, when the church had an attendance of from 50 to 75.

A METHODIST CLASS

was formed in Orange in 1795, with Savel Metcalf as leader, and 12 others in the class. In 1822 the society began the erec- tion of a meeting-house, but did not complete it, the structure being eventually torn down in 1852. A second Methodist Church was organized, at what is now West Orange, in 1853. Both organizations passed out of existence several years ago.

A Methodist Society was organized in Orange Centre in 1875, and has now 40 members, who worship in the town- hall. The pastors have been Revs. L. B. Frost, Wm. E. Dwight, and H. S. Ward, the latter being the pastor in 1879.

THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY OF ORANGE

was organized at Irvingsville (afterward West Orange) in 1837, with 21 members. The members built a meeting-house in 1836, about a year before they effected an organization. Prior to 1842 preaching was supplied by Revs. Salmon Ben- nett, Dyer Ball, Abel Patten, Warren Allen, and Whitman Peck. Rev. Josiah Tucker was ordained as pastor in 1842, and preached also to the Congregational Church in Erving. After his dismission, in 1844, the pulpit was supplied by Revs. Erastus Curtis and Hiram Chamberlain until 1847. The church struggled through a precarious existence until 1860, when it was dissolved, and the church structure removed to Orange Centre and converted into a shop.

A BAPTIST CHURCH

was organized in 1834, with 29 members, and worshiped in the house of the Second Congregational Society at West Orange and the Union meeting-house at Orange Centre until 1860, when it was dissolved. The present Baptist Church at Orange Centre was organized in 1870, and built the present church- edifice in 1872-78, at a cost, including organ, of $10,500. The pastors, since 1870, have been Revs. I. Il. Tilton, T. B. Holland, D. C. Eaton, and George W. Davis,-the latter the pastor now in charge. The church has now a membership of 70.

In 1833 a union meeting-house was built at South Orange (now Orange Centre), and for several years it was used in common by various denominations. The building, remodeled and materially improved in 1856, is now the edifice occupied by the

FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH,

which was organized in 1858. The church society was organ- ized in 1851, and was supplied by Revs. O. W. Bacon, C. W. Mellen, Lemuel Willis, J. Hemphill, and others. Since the church organization the pastors have been Revs. Asa Country- man, J. P. Atkinson, Lucius Holmes, E. W. Coffin, and C. L. Wait, the latter the pastor in 1879, when the membership was about 75. The church has a fund of $12,000 (bequeathed by Phineas Battle) and owns the church building and par- sonage, valued together at $12,000.

638

HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

THE CENTRAL EVANGELICAL CHURCHI, AT ORANGE CENTRE, was organized there in 1846, with 15 members, and until 1851 was known as the " Village Church." Previous to 1846, Rev. Chas. Boyter, who was sent out by the Home Missionary So- ciety, preached two years, and continued his services two years after the church organization. Rev. Marshall B. An- gier succeeded Mr. Boyter, and remained until 1852, when Rev. David Peck was ordained as the first settled pastor. In 1852 the present church edifice was erected. It cost, inclusive of land, clock, and organ, $24,000. Mr. Peck's successors in the pastorate were Revs. Edwin Dimmock, N. A. Prince, Daniel Phillips, A. B. Foster, Robert C. Bell, Mareus Ames, and A. F. Marsh, the latter being the pastor in 1879, when the membership was 184.

A recently-organized society, known as

THE PROGRESSIVES,

numbering about 100 members, worship in Putnam Hall, Orange Centre.

The town records relaie that about 1796 a society of " Friends" or Quakers existed in the south part of the dis- triet. They were a community by themselves, had a school, and held publie worship, but how long they continued as a society is not known.

SCHOOLS.

£30 were raised in 1784 for schools, and in the year follow- ing £50 were raised for a like purpose. March, 1786, a com- mittee reported as their opinion " that each school ward build them a school-house at their own cost." The report was ar- cepted and committees appointed to see to the building of the school-houses, which were completed in March, 1787, at a cost, for five school-houses, of £119. In 1799 the district raised $1000 for building and repairing school-houses.

In 1791 the town was divided into five school districts, or wards, the first being in the south, and comprising 18 inhab- itants; the second in the north, and numbering 19 inhabitants ; the third having 29 members; the fourth in the cast, having 32; and the fifth in the north, having 19. In 1800 the amount raised for schools was $250. In 1878 the sum raised was $4100, $1100 thereof being for the support of the high school.

There were in the town in 1878 a high school, grammar school, intermediate school, first and second primary schools, and eleven district schools. The average number of scholars in attendance at all the schools is 356. The average attendance at the high school is about 30.

LIBRARY.

The town has a free public library, founded in 1868 by town aid and private subscriptions, and supported since then by the same means. It is absolutely free to every inhabitant of the town, contains about 3000 volumes, and occupies a portion of the town-house.

COLLEGE GRADUATES.

Among the graduates in American colleges may be noted the following from Orange: Jonathan Woodward, Grendell Ellis, J. 11. Goddard, Alpheus Baker ( who was a classmate with Daniel Webster at Hanover), Samuel Temple, Elijah Ball, Ilyder Ali Ball, John Cheney, Harrison Lord, - Moore, Cyrus Chapin, Theodore Briggs, and George W. Barber.

BURIAL-PLACES.

There are five public cemeteries in the town, -one at Orange Centre, one at North Orange, one at Furnaceville, one at West Orange, and one in the eastern part. Of these, the hand- somest is the one at Orange Centre. It occupies a command- ing elevation overlooking the village, is wellnigh embowered within the shade of numerous pines, and contains, besides the soldiers' monument, many handsome tombstones, as well as smooth gravel-walks and gracefully-embellished burial-lots.

The burial-ground at North Orange is the oldlest one in the

town, and contains the graves of many of the early set- tlers. Among the oldest inscriptions to be found therein may be mentioned the following : Chloe Ellis, 1780; Mary Ellis, 1780; Mary Ward, 1777; Mary Lord, 1783; Elizabeth Cheney, 1789; Zina Goodell, 1789; Ebenezer Deming, 1790; Sarah Ward, 1790; Dolly Mayo, 1793; Jonathan Chapin, 1793; Stephen Nelson, 1793; Jonathan Ward, 1797; Melatiah Thayer, 1795; Priscilla Harrington, 1793; Elisha Johnson, 1800; Ebenezer Goddard, 1803; Wales Cheney, 1800; Oronia Goddard, 1801.

INDUSTRIES.

The manufactures of Orange are extensive and valuable, and form the basis of the town's present prosperity. The foremost representative of this interest is the Gold Medal Sewing-Machine Company, located on Miller's River, at Orange Centre. In 1863, Ilon. Andrew J. Clark, the president of the company, began with Wm. P. Barker the manufacture of the New England single-thread hand-machine upon the site of the present works. They employed but two men at first, and their productions were small in quantity, but the business steadily grew, and when, in 1865, Mr. Clark purchased Mr. Barker's interest, the employés numbered forty, and the aggregate number of machines made was from 300 to 400 per week. Mr. Clark continued the business alone until 1867, when he organized the firm of Johnson, Clark & Co., ma- terially enlarged the works, and began the manufacture of the Gold Medal sewing-machine, in connection with the New England machine. In 1869 the firm became a corporation, under the name of the Gold Medal Sewing-Machine Com- pany, with Andrew J. Clark as president, and in 1870 re- placed the Gold Medal machine with the manufacture of the Home machine, which in turn was succeeded in 1877 by the New Home machine, which is now the chief product. The manufacture of the New England machine was discontinued in 1877, and now, besides the New Home, the company makes also the Home shuttle-machine. The production in 1878 was 39,000 machines, the second largest number returned by Ameri- can manufacturers to the Sewing- Machine Journal in that year, and for 1879 the estimate is 50,000. The main works, on the north side of the river, cover three-quarters of an acre. On the south side of the river the company has a manufactory of sewing-machine cases and machine wood-work, and has also a half-interest in the Orange Iron-Foundry Company, where their castings are made. The total number of persons em- ployed in the interests of the company at Orange number about 450 .*

The Rodney Hunt Machine Company, on the south side of the river, is the outgrowth of a manufacturing business started by Mr. Rodney Hunt, in 1840, at Orange Centre. The works of the company are extensive, and the manufacture is largely of woolen-mill machinery, turbine water-wheels, and general mill-work. The company's capital represents an investment of upward of $75,000, and they employ from 75 to 100 men. This company, with the Gold Medal Sewing-Machine Com- pany, controls also the Orange Iron-Foundry Company, lo- cated on the south side of the river, and engaged in the man- ufacture of turbine water-wheels, sewing-machine castings, and general mill-work. The company has a capital of $50,000, and employs a force of from 60 to 70 men.

L. Kilburn & Co., on the north side of the river, do a thriv- ing business in the manufacture of canc- and wood-seat chairs. The firm was organized in 1862, and now occupies a factory, of which the main building is three stories and a half in height and measures 80 by 45 feet, the wing being two sto- ries and a half high and 52 feet in length by 24 feet in width. In 1878 the firm manufactured fifty thousand chairs,

* An extensive conflagration ut the village of Orange, in March, 1879, destroyed the buildings of the Orange Manufacturing Company, operated by the Gold Medal Sewing-Machine Company for the production of sewing-machine cal inet work. The total loss reached about $50,000.

FINGER

RES OF J.S DEWING, ORANGE, MASS.

RESIDENCE OF STEPHEN FRENCH , ORANGE, FRANKLIN CO., MASS .

100

OFFICE

COM'S LON18

Photo, by C. II. Wells, Orange.

Las G Haile

JAMES H. WAITE is a native of Rhode Island, and was born in Providence, July 1, 1832. He is of English ancestry, and belongs to the family of the eminent Chief Justice Waite. His father, John Waite, was born in Whately, Franklin Co., Mass., May 14, 1799, and is a descendant of the Waites who were among the first settlers in that town, who, it is believed, located there as early as 1750. In the history of Whately, John and Simeon Waite are mentioned as two of the first selectmen of that town, having been chosen to that office in 1772.

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History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 24

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 896

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896